It'll Be Okay
by Can't Blink
Summary: A dark AU scene, non-canon to the series. Takes place some time after 'Weakness'. Mating with Ghidorah has terrible consequences for Rodan. He just became very very tired all of a sudden…


"-and I dunno what to do!" San continued to ramble, barely keeping his voice down so as not to risk waking his brothers. He twitched their tails anxiously, his wide eyes on his older brothers, particularly Ni.

He's been rambling for minutes on end now, clearly just wanting to vent to someone, and Rodan tried his best to lend his ear to his mate. Even if it was getting harder to focus on the words and his eye lids were getting heavier, it was the least he could do. Plus, he did kinda ask for this by inquiring San in the first place, so…

"I don't even know what I did wrong, but-" Now Rodan definitely can't follow, as the little one was so swept up in his emotions that he switched over to his alien language. Rodan glanced up at San, blinking slowly as he let the dragon carry on.

Back and forth, San switched between languages; every so often he seemed to catch himself and speak in a way Rodan can understand but he would inevitably get swept up again and go back to that weird alien tongue.

Rodan just gave a weak nod of his head whenever those red eyes flash over towards him. That was usually good enough to encourage him to continue.

When San trailed off for a long enough moment, Rodan spoke up softly. It took effort to get his voice to work. "It's okay…" It came out as a whisper, barely loud enough to catch the hydra's ear. "It'll be okay…" His words were slurring together, everything was getting dark, and he felt so tired. He just wanted to close his eyes and slip off into nothingness.

"I don't know how it will be okay," San responded, although his words were becoming incoherent noise to the pterosaur's ears. He said something else, but Rodan couldn't catch it as he felt an odd chill swept over him before a warmth different from that of his lava blanketed over his body. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt… content. Happy, even. Was this what the end felt like? Weird, he always thought he would fight Death tooth and claw. But he was okay with it. Not welcoming it, but okay with it. He had a rough life, but he managed to salvage it.

He had a mate again. After so long, facing loneliness as the last of his kind, he found a life-partner once more. And what a powerful mate they were, now ruling over the planet as king, with him by their side. It was fitting, really, that his death be caused by their love.

Maybe that's why he was so willing to drift into the nothingness waiting for him…

* * *

San watched quietly as their slave slumped onto the rim of the lava pool. He wasn't answering San's question and have fallen asleep mid-conversation! His eyes were still a bit open, but still probably asleep. Rude! He let out a breath through his nose and turned away.

He had to think of something! But what? Planning was not his strong-point; usually Ichi took care of that kind of stuff. But his eldest brother didn't seem to know how to fix this either. They were both blindsided by Ni's words, and it wasn't as if San could imitate what Ichi would do to fix this. He was not an alpha like him, so he would have to approach this in a way that didn't push the boundaries of his low-ranking position.

He was low-key kind of hoping the bird would have some advice on what to do. It's not often he would turn to the ideas of a slave, but he was desperate. Alas, that was useless too!

His thoughts were interrupted by a rasping sound. Then another one. And another. He grew alerted, ears sharp to pinpoint the location of the sound. The body was tense and ready for conflict, his neurons ready to shoot raw emotion of alarm and adrenaline to wake the others at an instant's notice. But it seemed it wasn't necessary, as his ears led him to look back towards the slave.

It was coming from him. He was breathing funny.

The left head instantly relaxed, knowing they were not in any danger. His eyes don't leave the bird though, curiosity spiking as he watched him make strange gasping breaths. Almost like he does when he's being strangled by Ni, but he wasn't. San blinked slowly, and as his mind put the pieces together, a wide grin came upon his snout.

Seemed like the bird was dying, from his injuries no doubt. For all that effort Rodan put into what apparently was courtship, he wasn't able to handle them as a mate after all.

He watched with fascination, reveling in each shallow breath drawn. He felt the impulse to lean closer, get a better look, feel those weak breaths against his scales and he couldn't resist it. He was half-way in committing to the action when he snapped to his senses, a realization dawning on him.

Ichi will be incredibly displeased with him if their slave died on his watch…

His pleasure was quickly replaced with anxiety and fear as he looked towards his sleeping eldest brother. His gaze returned to the bird before he leaned forward the rest of the way to nudge his snout against the slave's beak.

"Wake up," he hissed softly. But the slave didn't stir and he bit him, his teeth breaking through the rock armor. No response. He gave a shake before pulling the bird from the lava pit. Molten rock dripped from him, puddling beneath him and San couldn't tell how much of it was normal lava and how much was blood.

Dammit!

He glanced again towards Ichi before giving a frustrated growl and letting go, only to bite down on the bird's injured shoulder, reopening the wound and tearing into it. Wake up!

But other then a slight twitch from the corresponding wing, the bird was still limp. Dropping him, San stared with wide eyes, blood coating his lips and fangs. This wasn't working and he was coming to terms with what he feared he had to do: he had to wake up Ichi.

He was terrified, knowing the eldest may blame him for this! After all, San has always toyed with the slave, and he may assume this was the result of San's little torture sessions gone wrong. Can he hide this somehow? … Yeah, there's no way he can hide this. Better to get it over and done with, while there's still time. He swallowed slightly, gulping down his anxiety, before going over to his brother.

It'll be okay. He'll explain the situation, share his memories even, just to show that he's innocent! With great hesitation, he nudged Ichi with his snout.

"Brother San…?" came a mutter from the eldest, after quite a bit of nudging. His eyes opened a bit, looking over to the youngest wearily. San spoke softly, as if afraid of being heard. He was afraid of being heard, but it's too late to turn back now!

"There's something wrong with the slave."

Ichi blinked slowly, his tired mind taking a moment to piece together what he was being told. The sight of a bright orange glowing substance around the youngest's mouth woke him up that much faster. Picking himself up from the ground, he watched as San lowered himself nervously as he yawned. His eyes moved towards the bird.

Silence between them, Ichi just watching the bird's body struggle for breath for a moment before he looked back at San. The left head saw him glance towards his bloodied mouth and he quickly spoke in a panic.

"I didn't do anything, Brother Ichi," he started. "I swear, I didn't do anything. I was just talking and he went quiet and I saw him like this. I tried to wake him up, but it wasn't working. I-"

"Calm down, Brother San," the middle head spoke up when the youngest began sharing the memories, cutting him off. "It is unnecessary. I already had the expectation that this was going to happen and I know it was not your fault."

San felt himself relax a little bit. Okay, so he wasn't being blamed and he felt his anxiety begin to fade. Thank goodness his big brother was so observant and understanding of the situation. He lets out a breath before looking back to the slave. His curiosity began to peak again, now that he knew things were going to be okay.

"Can we fix him?" San asked. The bird was a fun little toy, one of his longest lasting toys in fact. He didn't want to lose his plaything, not yet! And if he did have to lose him, then he wanted it to be by his own teeth! Not because of Ni, it's _always_ because of Ni!

Ichi was quiet, moving towards the slave to examine him more closely. Watching his breaths, and looking towards the tail region where he bled the most heavily. He knew this was caused by their mating, what Brother Ni did to him. Several times during their coupling, Ichi gave his second-in-command warnings not to kill the bird with his violent actions, but Ni ignored those warnings. It came to no surprise to him that this would be the outcome of it all.

Can they fix him though? His mind worked for a solution, for any remedy that may stop the bleeding. They've already allowed him rest, retrieved the left-over food for him, and let him stay in this volcano. They didn't have the actual tools or know-how needed to heal him themselves. Even if they did, from the looks of it, the bird was too far gone at this point. Their efforts to save him would be useless.

Shame. He was such a good slave too.

"I do not think we can," Ichi told him in a toneless voice. "We already did what we could, and it was up to him as to whether he was going to make it." He pulled away from the bird, glancing towards San as he continued. "If by some miracle he is still alive come morning, you will be free to do as you please with him. Until then, keep alert."

He said nothing more, settling his head back upon a wing to go back to sleep. It doesn't come to him particularly fast, as he wondered how he was going to handle his reprimanding of Ni come morning. He understood WHY Ni did what he did, but Ichi was clear in his threats and Ni should be held responsible for defying him. It was a touchy and sensitive subject, one that must be handled with great care. Only time will tell just how well it will go.

San watched over his brother while he drifted off. In contrast to the eldest, his mind was filled with growing excitement. It was such a rare occurrence that Ichi would actively encourage him to play. With their dying slave, no less! Turning towards the bird, he realized that he wasn't going to make it to morning, no way. The left head glanced towards Ichi, making sure he was fast asleep.

It wasn't uncommon for him to bend the rules a bit during his guard shift. Not like it was going to take long anyway. At this rate, the bird had probably an hour left of life. Maybe a bit more if San was careful.

A wide, toothy grin returned to his face, eyes flashing with glee. He was denied his turn during the mating, but he can still have fun with his favorite little toy one last time…


End file.
